A Hundred Years Later
by Lliri
Summary: Sequel to "Black Sand Experiment." Jack is still missing, the world is changing for the worse, and this time, the guardians can't help. War, shortages, global warming, and a million other problems plauge day to day life. When Jack reapears, can he help? Can he even survive? Rating may change over time.
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place after "Black Sand experiment." It covers the first 50 years without Jack, starting about 15 years after his disappearance.**

North was in his workshop. He was trying to focus on his newest creation, a miniature Titanic. But this heat... it was really getting to him. In fact, the other guardians were coming over soon to discuss some new problems that had cropped up.

Meanwhile, Bunny was painting his eggs. The only problem was, it was so hard to find the light oils for his paints. Or any oil, really. It was a problem he would have to talk about with the other guardians at the meeting later.

Sandy was giving his good dreams to children all over the world. More children than ever needed good dreams. He had been working around the clock for the last year. There was a lot of bad, bad, things going on.

Tooth was dropping off good memories to the children in need. In the years after Jack disappeared, a lot more children needed good memories. Everything was wrong.

XXX

_At the North Pole_

"I will report first." North stepped forward. The others nodded. North had been keeping tabs on global warming.

"It's not looking good. The people are still busy polluting the air, and in many places, people need to wear masks before they go out. Northern species, like Polar bears and seals and walrus's, are dying out faster than ever before. The scientists think that the number of species alive will be cut in half every decade, or less. They look for a solution, but have no more luck than we did. In short, they've already set this in motion." North concluded, nodding at Bunny, asking him to go next. Bunny was watching the increasing tension over the oil shortages.

"The people have used up almost all the easily accessible oil they can, and battles are starting. They want to go to war to get more oil, but for that, they need oil. The smaller countries are being basically bullied into giving the larger ones oil. I think it's only a matter of time before we have world war 3 on our hands." Bunny said grimly. It was Sandy's turn next. He made images of children sleeping restlessly, Pitch's black sand, the same children being mean and bullying the other children, and people just breaking down completely. The guardians got it. Pitch's nightmare sand was not helping anything. Then, Tooth made her report.

"It's terrible. Over the last few years, I've needed to give more good memory's to the children than before, but over the last couple weeks, that amount has nearly doubled." She simply stated. The guardians looked at each other. This was very bad.

"If Jack was here, do you think he would know what to do?" Tooth asked.

"Mim will bring him back to us soon, and until then, we must do what we do best- bring joy to the children!" North boomed. Throughout the reports, he had been getting glummer and glummer. It was time to be happy, he decided.

"Still, I wonder."

XXX

_A few years later_

"If mim says not to go after Pitch, we don't go after Pitch!" North was yelling.

"I'm sick and tired of just observing! It's time to do something!" Bunny yelled back.

"We can't! I never thought I'd say this, but Pitch is the least of our problems!"

"Fine, you can stay here and work on your toys while I go and wallop Pitch!"

"Bunny, my friend, don't you remember the last time one of us went up against Pitch alone?" North yelled. His point hit home.

"Oh, don't even go there! That was completely different!"

"You're just annoyed that you don't know how to fix this, so your automatic reaction is to fight! I get it! But it's not the right thing to do!" North and Bunny were still yelling when Sandy floated in, looking exhausted. He made some sand images; guns shooting, tanks rolling in, and a giant battle. His point got across to the two fighting friends.

"No… Not that." North said.

"Not… World war 3?" Bunny asked, deflating. Sandy nodded the affirmative.

"Oh. That's not good."

XXX

_5 years after the start of the war_

The guardians were evacuating the children. After the war had started, The guardians had built a stronghold on an obscure little island. North would touch down on his sleigh in the heart of the warzone, and take as many children as possible away. The only problem was he could only take believers. The others would just go right through him. The guardians felt so helpless. What else could they do?

XXX

_After the end of the war_

The war had lasted for 17 years, 17 of the worst, hardest year's mankind had ever known. Nearly half the world's population had been killed. The survivors had banded together and created a new sort of society. Every morsel of food was important and wasting time punishable by imprisonment. It was an improvement to the war, but it was still bad. But some good could always be found, despite all the bad going on.

XXX

The war had been horrible, Jamie mused, but he was one of the lucky ones. Soon after the war had started, the guardians had brought him and his sister, along with as many believers as they could find to a sort of fort. Jamie was 15, but he still believed. Now, Jamie was 27, and happy as could be. He adjusted his tie in the mirror, and walked outside. A carpet was laid out, a wedding cake beside it. Yes, life was good.

**I apologize if it seems like I'm rushing the story, since the guardians couldn't do much about the war, I didn't want to bore your socks off. In the next chapter, Jamie, Rosie and Pitch all come back into the picture, but no Jack. I'm planning to update either on Saturday or once I get 5 reviews. Oh, and I'm going to hold off on the one-shot collection until I'm done this series, or until the summer break.**


	2. World War 3

** Previously... World war 3 has come and gone, killing nearly half the human population. Jamie is about to celebrate something, and the guardians felt helpless.**

XXX

_Shortly after the war started._

Jamie was sleeping peacefully one night when the first of the bombs hit.

He rushed to the window. On the horizon, he could see a giant grey mushroom cloud. Panic took over. He raced to his sister's room, where she was hiding under the covers.

'Shhh, don't worry Sophie, we'll get out of this. We'll be OK, don't worry..." Jamie sat with Sophie, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

A crash.

"Jamie! Sophie! Go! Run!" A voice was yelling, their mother.

"Get as far away from here as possible!" Their father yelled at them. A scream. They ran.

Another crash. Jamie threw himself over Sophie, as debris rained over them. The second that stopped, he grabbed her hand and kept running. They ran into something hard, and Jamie fell over.

"Into the sleigh! Hurry!" Bunny yelled, pulling Sophie into the sleigh. Jamie pulled himself up and into the sleigh, and seconds later they were off, picking up as many other believers as possible.

"We have to go get my mom and dad!" Jamie yelled. Bunny looked at him, sadly.

"They don't believe. They... can't come." He said.

"Why not?"

"They'll just fall through the sleigh." Bunny's eyes showed his regret. _Sorry, _they said to the younger boy.

By the time they reached the town to pick up his friends, a layer of ash had settled over it.

XXX

_A couple days later_

"We have to be strong, Sophie. Mom and Dad would want that." Jamie was explaining to his little sister.

"I just want to go home." She whimpered.

"I know. I do too. But this is our home now." He said gesturing to the fort they were living in. It was the home of a few hundred other children. The last believers. In the middle of a war, this unexpected refuge was a place of beauty. Its walls were painted every colour of the rainbow, and it was full of toys that North never got to deliver, Easter eggs meant for towns that had been destroyed, and precious teeth that Tooth couldn't let go of. They were lucky, and everyone there knew it.

"We have to be strong, Sophie." Jamie repeated.

XXX

_A couple weeks later_

Jamie was bringing Sophie to brush her teeth, when he saw _her_ for the first time.

Her brown hair curled in an unruly manner. He face was flushed like she had just been in a shouting match, and her blue eyes were challenging and sceptical. A small gasp escaped Jamie's lips. She just looked so cool.

"H-hi, I'm Jamie, and this is my sister Sophie. What's your name?" He stammered out.

"I'm Rosie." She answered, meeting his gaze. He flushed. _He's kind of cute._ She thought. She flushed too.

"Do you want to hang out sometime?" Jamie asked hesitantly.

"Sure." Rosie turned away, smiling.

XXX

_The next day_

"So we were having a snowball fight, and I fell over onto my sled and started going into the way of the traffic. I was freaking out, I thought I was going to be run over by cars, but the ice just kept coming out of nowhere, and it brought me back to where I was, safely. Then, a sofa came out of nowhere and hit me, and I lost a tooth!" Jamie explained to Rosie. He bit his lip. _I want to tell her about Jack, but I don't want to look like a little kid. _He found that he highly valued her opinion of him.

"It was Jack Frost! He made the ice!" Sophie piped in. They were sitting in one of the playrooms filled up with undelivered toys. Rosie and Jamie were watching Sophie. Jamie noted the soft expression on her face when she saw the happy, laughing little girl.

"I'll bet it was!" Rosie laughed. She was thinking the same thing as Jack. She didn't want to look like a little kid.

"Do you believe in Jack Frost?" Rosie and Jamie asked at the same time. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Rosie was the first to recover.

"Ya." She admitted. Jamie sighed with relief.

"Me too. He used to visit, but he hasn't lately. I suppose he's pretty busy." Jamie said, looking up at the ceiling, not noticing how Rosie's face fell.

"Not too long ago, I lived at a sort of... home. I don't really know what to call it. Pitch was trying to improve his nightmare sand, and he was experimenting on me and some of the other kids. Then, one day Jack came along. He went to talk to us, but I was the only one who could see him." She paused.

"I didn't know who he was, but at the same time, part of me did. I told him that he looked a lot like Jack Frost, and I... I said 'He is supposed to be very brave, but very weak at the same time.' Then I told him what was going on. He started trying to figure out what Pitch was up to, and one day, I stopped believing. I... thought I was hallucinating. But he still came back, to make sure that we would all be OK. And Pitch took me to use against the guardians, and they were fighting off nightmares, and then Jack..." Rosie's pink face went pale. She didn't want to have to tell Jamie this.

"Jack died." She stated simply. Jamie stood up, pale.

"I'll be back."

XXX

_Minutes later_

Bunny had been walking along, minding his own business when Jamie came barrelling into him.

"Why didn't anyone tell me Jack was dead?" The kid asked. His eyes were shining with tears. Jack had been like a brother to him.

"What?" Bunny managed.

"You heard me!"

"Jack's not dead." Jamie froze with his hand halfway to his face, to wipe away a tear that had escaped.

"What?"

"Jack's not dead. Mim took him away, to heal his mind. He'll be back...Judging by your expression, you know what happened?"

"Yes! Yes! YES!" Jamie yelled, jumping around, then turning and running down the hall. Bunny watched him, making a mental note to tell Frostbite once he got back.

XXX

_Seconds later_

"Rosie! Sophie!" Jamie burst back in. Sophie was looking sad, she had liked Jack.

"Jack's not dead; Bunny said that Mim took him away to heal his mind." Jamie said. Rosie gasped.

"That fit's! The flash of light... that must have been Mim!" Rosie smiled.

XXX

Everything was going to be OK. Jamie could feel it.

XXX

_Back to present time_

Something was very wrong. North could feel it in his belly. A shadow crossed over the globe. Pitch.

"What do you want, Pitch?" He asked.

"I just wanted to relay a message. You don't need to get mad at me like that, North. Where are your manners?" Pitch's mocking voice echoed throughout the workshop.

"Get on with it." North snapped.

"I'm going after the last believers. That's all." The shadow disappeared. North gulped, before rushing towards the emergency Aurora Borealis.

**So, there will probably be one more chapter explaining Jamie and Rosie's relationship, and explaining what happened before Jack got back. I've already written chapter 3, I'll post it either on monday, or when I hit 6 reveiws for this story.**


	3. Jamie and Rosie

**Previously... Jamie and Rosie have met for the first time, filling in one some of what happened during the war.**

XXX

_Jamie and Rosie are now in their teens._

"No."

"But Jamie-"

"No Sophie. Please, just go to bed."

"But I wanna-"

"Not today." Jamie was tucking his little sister into bed. They had already stayed up late, Sophie just kept asking for just one more story, and before he knew it, it was 10 at night, and he had to be up early the next day to meet with the guardians. He sighed. When he looked back over at his sister, she was fast asleep. He slipped out of the room on silent feet.

XXX

_The following morning_

"So if the rebels attack from the north-west, that will leave their flank vulnerable, but if they attack from the opposite direction, that will open their front line to even greater casualty than before." North was gesturing hopelessly at a map.

"What if they had one small force coming from the north-west as a distraction, then they launched the real attack from the north-east?" Rosie asked. Rosie was smart, really smart, and when it came to battle tactics, she was the best. The two of them, only 15, were important members of the rebellion.

The others were discussing tactics. Rosie was the lead tactician in the rebellion, Jamie was in charge of sending in humanitarian aid to the war-zones.

"Well what if we sent some small bombs in here- and here-" Rosie was jabbing at different parts of the map.

"And then sent a bigger one in here-" Rosie continued. The others were looking at her, confused. Jamie knew that her strategy was probably the best thing to do, but the other's were more for the direct approach.

"I'm telling you, we need the bombs!"

_"Jamie! Soph__ie! Go! Run!" Jamie's mother's voice echoed in his head._

_ "Get as far away from here as possible!" His father yelled. Crash! Shielding his sister._

"Is there any alternative to using the bombs?" Jamie cut in pleadingly.

"From a strategic point of view, we need them. They would result in a minimum loss of life in our own troops, and in the we need to win this city back as soon as possible." Rosie explained. Her gaze was soft and gentle, but her tone was no nonsense.

"We'll talk later, OK?" She said.

XXX

_An hour later_

"I'm sorry Jamie, but we have to, and you know it." Rosie was saying. Jamie nodded his head no.

"How can I go home tonight and tell Sophie that I let that happen? How can I look her in the eye and say that I stood by and did nothing while-while you..." He trailed off at the look on Rosie's face.

"Do you think I like doing this? Do you think I don't have nightmares every night about all the people I've killed as the result of my plans? Do you really think that I want to do this? I'm 15, same as you Jamie! I do it because I have to! Because if we lose, then you won't be able to go home to Sophie, because we'll all be dead!" Rosie ranted. Her face fell.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose my head." She apologized.

"Me too." Jamie replied. They walked down the hall.

That attack marked the halfway point in the war.

XXX

_After the war had ended_

"I should feel happy, but I can't even process how many people have died because of greed." Rosie said one evening.

"It's almost Easter, and you know what that means." Jamie said.

"It means new hope."

XXX

So in the end, the war had been a bittersweet event for Jamie. On one hand, he had lost his parents, his home, and his entire way of life. But on the other hand, he had met Rosie. And now they were going to get married. He adjusted his tie, glanced in the mirror, and walked outside.

"Do you, Jamie Bennet, take Rosie Tactician as your wife?" Since Rosie didn't know who her parents were, or if she had parents, she had been awarded a new last name during the war.

"I do." Jamie's face shone.

"And do you, Rosie Tactician take Jamie Bennet as your husband?"

"I do." Rosie said.

XXX

_99 years after Jack's disappearance_

But all of that was ancient history now. Jamie and Rosie were both getting very old, and were grandparents. Both of them loved nothing more than to sit there with a few grandchildren on their knee, telling stories about the guardians, and Pitch, and the war. Nearly all of their grandchildren had Jamie's brown eyes and hair, but a few of them could be seen scampering about with their wide blue eyes.

Shortly after the war ended, Jamie, Rosie, and Sophie had moved to the countryside. They did their best to keep out of trouble, and many years later, they finally felt happy. Ancient, but happy.

** And yes, I know that makes Jamie and Rosie about a bazillion years old, and I know that time and me haven't been best friends in this fic. And don't ****worry;**** I won't go on about Jamie and Rosie forever. All of that will end ****soon, and we will be back to epic battles and lots of fun stuff like that.**


	4. Hunting Season

Sandy was giving dreams about dinosaurs and fairy dust one night when the sky was lit up with blues and greens. The emergency Aurora Borealis. He raced to the pole.

XXX

Tooth was cooing over a perfectly flossed left incisor when she saw the emergency Aurora Borealis. She slipped a two dollar coin over the little boy's pillow and flew off.

XXX

Aster was painting eggs, as usual. The sky lit up, and he tapped the ground twice, opening up a hole in the ground. He reappeared a minute later at the pole.

XXX

North had been making toys when Mim shone in his window. North speed-walked towards the globe room. He called the others to the pole using the emergency Aurora Borealis. The guardians assembled in the globe room minutes later, in silence.

Mim shone and image down. Jack.

"Is something wrong?" Bunny asked.

"Jack is back to normal, but there may be moments when he isn't himself. Sometimes… Well, you'll cross that barrier when you get to in." Mim telepathically told them. Then, Jack came swooping in the window. The others whirled around. They were totally unprepared, and stared at him in silence for a minute.

"Uh… Hello? Is this the right address?" He asked. Silence.

"Tooth? Sandy? Aster?" he asked, waving his hand in front of each one of them in turn.

"North?" he asked. Before he could react, North had scooped him into a giant bear hug. Jack let out a strangled yell.

"Jack! You're back!" He boomed. That broke the silence, and soon everyone was saying hello, and patting him on the back and even the elves looked happy to see him.

"Whoa, it's good to see you too!" He backed slowly into the wall, preparing for the next wave of hugs.

Silence, again. The silence was broken by Phil rushing in and yelling something at Jack in yettish.

"What is he saying?" Jack asked North.

"He is saying that if you ever do something like that again, he will personally force you to repaint and entire stack of airplanes blue." Jack hugged the yeti.

"I think that's a little harsh." He said in mock horror. Something in his face changed.

"So, how long have I been away? What's happened, why is it so warm? What happened to Rosie and Jamie?" He asked. The guardians exchanged looks again, wondering how to approach this.

"How long do you think you've been away?" Tooth asked. Jack considered her.

"Well, it was late spring when I… left. It's really warm now, so I'm guessing… A season?" He guessed.

"It's been a bit longer than that." Bunny said.

"A year?"

"Even longer than that."

"Not more than two years, right?" He paled, seeing Bunnys expression.

"Tell me. Please." He asked.

"Frostbite, you've been gone… a hundred years." Jack gasped and turned even whiter.

"No, you're joking right?" North nodded no. They weren't joking.

"A hundred years…" He repeated hollowly.

"Does that mean… Jamie and Rosie are dead?"

"No, they are very old, but not dead. They have adorable grandchildren!" North was happy to be finally able to give Jack some good news.

"Who did Jamie marry?"

"You'll never believe this, but Jamie married Rosie!" Tooth blurted. Jack started laughing.

"Ok, this is insane! I need to go see them, where are they?"

"Jack, before you go, there is some other things you need to know. A lot has gone on while you were away." North shouted, as Jack took off across the room.

"Like what?" Jack froze mid-leap, and looked like he was doing ballet. Bunny cast about the workshop for a camera.

"World war 3… Global warming, oil shortages, and Pitch's nightmare sand has managed to get to very many people. "North answered reluctantly.

Jack walked back across the room towards the globe.

"To think that I could of-"

"Prevented it, yes?" Pitch's voice cut him off. The guardians whirled around, looking for the source of the voice. Pitch was casually leaning against the side of the open window. His grin spread wider when it hit him who had really spoken.

"Well, I came to just pass on a message to the guardians, and what do I find? A nice little family reunion, but best of all, Jack! I hope you're happy when you see how much damage your failure has caused. But really, I'm getting ahead of myself. I just need to pass on a quick message." Pitch continued to grin, letting the silence stretch out. _That grin is really getting to me._

"Get on with it then!" Bunny snarled.

"As North probably recalls, I'm still going after the last believer's. But it's taking far too long to destroy their minds. So now… I'm aiming to kill." Pitch disappeared into the night.

** Well, this chapter isn't**** particularly**** long or well written, but**** I hadn't updated in forever. (Or so it felt like.) So, now we finally get to the prelude to the epic battles! Yay!**


	5. Life With the Rebels

**Previously... Pitch is aiming to kill the last believers.**

"We should go take down Pitch, we can't round up all of the last believers!"

"No, we should get as many of them as possible and protect them-"

"We should send the yetis to everyone; they can hold Pitch off until we get there."

"Listen!"

"I'm telling you mate, we need to take down Pitch!"

"But what if he hurts some of them?"

"Dah! You are all crazy. My yetis are more than capable."

"Stop! Be-"

"We can't just wait around; I'll go get my boomerangs ready."

"No Bunny! He's too strong!"

"Yeti's! Arm yourselves!"

"QUIETTTTTT!" Jack screamed the others glanced at him for a moment, and resumed their arguing. Sandy was making sand images above his head, telling Jack to stay there. A few minutes later, the arguing died down.

"We'll explain everything."

XXX

_Jack is back._

_He still doesn't know everything._

_We proceed as planned._

_-Your master._

XXX

I've given Jack far too many second chances. He should have listened to me, because now, it's too late. It could have been both of us being believed in, but now, it's all going to be me. But I won't kill him, no. Not right away. First, I'll destroy everyone who ever believed in him. Then, I'll destroy him. He'll lose himself to the darkness, and then, after he's killed the guardians, I'll kill him. Then, I'll be the only one who matters.

Who am I?

I'm the death of Jack Frost.

I'm the cause of the war.

I'm fear.

I'm Pitch Black.

XXX

"Soon after you… left, shortages started happening. Global warming was starting to become a problem to, and the humans finally realized their mistakes. Then, one human rose up above all the others. His name was Derek Butcher. He had this vision of a new world, and when he spoke, you couldn't help but believe him. He said that they needed to eliminate the weak, and that anyone who wanted a life should come over to his side." North started talking.

"So many people did, too. None of them could see what we could see. He had been the victim of Pitch's early experiments, and had lost every virtue that he possessed. Ironically, he lived at the Home with Rosie. From what she tells us, he started out being the boy who would always help someone when they were down, who would stop the bullies from picking on the weak. But one day, he just snapped." Bunny continued.

"Then, the war started, and he rose to power, at only 15 years old. Every day, a million new people would come to his side, and the few who still believed in helping the weak were losing hope. Then, the eradication started. They would bomb the small pockets of rebels, and we finally got a chance to help. We evacuated everyone we could, but only the believers could come aboard the sleigh, otherwise, they would just slip through. The rest, we couldn't save." Jack stared blankly at Tooth as she spoke, trying to proccess everything she was saying.

"Through the human children who could see us, we directed the rebels. For years and years, we fought them to a stalemate. Eventually, we called a tentative truce between both sides. At that point, over half the world had been killed in the war." Everyone was staring into the fire.

"And that's that." Bunny snapped into attention. A heavy silence fell over the room.

"I never thought something like that would happen just because I didn't listen to you." Jack stared. _If I had stopped Pitch, I would have been able to stop that boy from turning bad, and then we wouldn't be in this mess._

"Not your fault, Frostbite. It's Pitch's fault."

All they could hear was the low crackling of the fire.

** So my sister had got an account now too. Her authors name is nightmare maker, she's writing stories about ROTG so far.**

** Does anyone else get name ideas from those funny letters you need to tyoe in when you log on?**


	6. Reunion Time

**Previously... Jack had found out what happened during the war. Pitch has a top-secret plan, and someone is sending mysterious letters. Oh, and since I haven't done this before, I ****don't own Rise of the Guardians. If I did, we would already have a sequel on the way.**

"I suggest entering the lair from the bed, then splitting up. Tooth, Bunny and North can hold the fearlings back, while Jack comes in from the opposite direction and distracts Pitch, then once Jack gives the signal, Sandy can come in and hit Pitch with his sand. It'll be easier to deal with him then." Rosie was quavering. Jack was struck by how old Jamie and her both were.

Barely an hour before, they had taken North's sleigh and went to pick up Jamie, Rosie, and their family. Pitch was sure to target them. The reunion had gone very well, and Jack was delighted to see a small tribe of little Jamie's and Rosie's waddling about, and a few mini Sophie's.

"So where's Sophie?" He had asked. Jamie's easy smile faded.

"She passed away about a year before the war ended."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Jack idly contemplated his surroundings. They were outside a large, sprawling barn that they had renovated and added parts on until it had room for everyone in the extensive Burgress clan. It was painted a cheerful red on the outside, and they had decorated several nearby trees with silvery tinsel. _I like this place._

"So, we should be off." Jamie had said, and they took off to the pole. Every square inch of the sleigh was full of people.

And then they had started talking strategy.

"What if Pitch calls his nightmares to defend him instead of going on the offensive? What's our plan then?" Bunny cut in. The others thought for a moment.

"You take up the 5 point star position, with Jack in front of Pitch to distract him, and Sandy behind him. Once they clear enough nightmares away, Sandy can get a shot at Pitch."

"When did you get so good at this, Rosie?" Jack asked in mild surprise. Rosie chuckled and turned back towards her figurines and maps. She literally had a figurine Pitch surrounded by nightmares and guardians.

"This sounds good, but Pitch knows our tactics. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it would work." Jamie started, and then he hesitated.

"Go on."

"Well, you're supposed to play off your enemy's weaknesses, right?"

"Yes."

"Pitch thinks that just because he is fear, that means he is fearless. But that's not true. I guess what I'm suggesting is that we… find a way to use his own nightmare sand against him." The others looked at him considering his idea. _That's pretty cold, but strategically it makes sense, and is perfectly __justifiable,__seeing as he indirectly killed so many people,_Rosie thought.

"Sandy? Would that be possible?" She asked, as Sandy nodded yes.

"Alright, we can work that into our strategy." She said. The meeting adjourned for a quick break.

"Can you walk with me, Jamie?" Jack asked. They strolled into the hall silently, each waiting for the other to break the silence. At last, Jack spoke.

"A lot has changed, hasn't it?"

"It's been a tough time. It's getting better now, though." They both spoke like they were just talking about the weather, when in reality; they were judging how much the other had changed.

"I heard about Burgress. I'm sorry." Jack said. _Jamie has changed so much. He's learned how to be tactful, but he's also lost his impulsiveness._

"It's OK to just follow your instincts, you know that right?" Jack asked.

"I know. It's hard now, is all. When you're so used to planning every escape route, every detail of the battle… it's just hard. I want to be able to follow my instincts, but there's too much at risk if I'm wrong." _Jack is right, but if I don't protect the little ones, who will?_

"From what I've heard, your instincts were what saved your sister."

"Ya, and see how that turned out."

"What do you mean?"

"One day, Rosie and I had just been at a meeting for tactics. She wanted to use bombs, and we argued after. I didn't want to have that on my conscience. But in the end, we agreed that they were necessary. It wasn't her fault, she couldn't have known. The other side took note of our tactics. Nearly a decade later, when Sophie had just given birth to her daughter, they dropped bombs on our town, using Rosie's tactics. Almost everyone got out OK, but Sophie had just given birth, she couldn't run. She told me to take her daughter, and I didn't want to, but I ran, and she died. If I had followed my instincts and not let Rosie use those tactics, they wouldn't have taken note of our techniques, and they wouldn't have killed Sophie."

"Look at me." Jack asked Jamie quietly. Jamie turned to face him. Blue eyes studied the brown.

Age had changed almost everything about his friend, but his eyes remained the same. For a second, Jack was scared. Jamie was old. He didn't have much longer to live.

"You can't blame yourself for that. What would of happened if you didn't use Rosie's strategy that day, during the war?"

"The opposition would have taken over the town and we would of lost nearly a hundred thousand lives." A smile broke over Jamie's wrinkled face. "Jeez, why are you always right?"

"Hey, I may look young, but I'm really over 400 years old!" They laughed again, but Jack got serious.

"You've changed so much. The old Jamie would never of suggested using someone's fear against anyone."

"Normally I wouldn't. But when someone kills my sister and parents, I tend to take it personally." Jack studied Jamie's face for several more seconds.

"Well, I bet you still can't beat me in a snowball fight!" Jack laughed. Jamie went to gather up his grandchildren and they headed outside.

XXX

_Enjoy the happiness while it lasts, Frost. If everything works out the way I plan it to, this will be some of the last fun you ever get. _Pitch got up and called to a nightmare. He needed to send a letter.

_My spies tell me that the guardians are planning to use your classic military tactics against me._

_Jack has fallen for everything. He still doesn't know the whole story._

_Prepare the bait._

_-Your Master._

**Du du du duuuuu! Well, we all knew Pitch was planning some lovely evil scheme. But ****who ****is spying for Pitch? ****Who**** does he keep writing to? ****What**** is this "Whole story" he speaks of? And, uh, ****what's**** the bait? Tee hee hee hee! (Sitting in a dar****k room, tapping fingers together. Laughing. You're welcome for the mental image.)**


	7. To the Walls

**Previously... Pitch has a spy with assess to the guardians and is sending mysterious letters to someone, and is planning on using bait for something.**

"Is everyone ready?" Tooth asked, zipping around. "A skiing accident in Russia, a bike crash in South Africa, a left-incisor in northern Slovakia..." Tooth got distracted telling her mini fairy's what to do. Sandy nodded the affirmative, but no one was watching.

"Ya." Bunny said. He was leaning against the doorframe, sharpening a boomerang. North was slicing his sword experimentally through the air, and Sandy was making sand whips, grinning. But where was Jack?

"Do any of you know where Jack is?" He asked.

"He said something about giving Burgress its last snow day." North said sadly. _He just had to see it one last time, I guess._

XXX

Jack wandered the streets of Burgress. Ash. It was all ash. Actually, the ash had settled to a hard grey layer over the entire town. Not even his lake had been spared. He breathed in the acrid chemical smell of the bombs. He pictured the mushroom cloud, the screaming children, and the soot everywhere. The visions became a bit too real to him, and his eyes snapped open.

Pufffff… He let his breath out. He hadn't even realized that he was holding it in. _Oh no! I'm going to be late! _He took off into the sky.

XXX

_Frost still hasn't returned._

_-Your servant._

_Good work._

_Tell me once he returns._

_-Your master._

XXX

"Ok, it's been half an hour. Frost had better have a good excuse." Bunny was growling.

"I'm here now." Jack said, suddenly appearing perched on the edge of the window. Bunny started complaining, but Tooth cut him off.

"No time! We have to go now!"

"Yes! To the sleigh!"

"No way, mate. I'm taking my tunnels, thanks."

XXX

_Frost is back._

_They are leaving now. Bunny is taking his tunnels. The rest are taking the sleigh._

_I advise you to put the plan in effect immediately._

_-Your servant._

XXX

By the end of the hour, Frost would be just another nightmare. Pitch chuckled at his own wit. Frost, the insufferable guardian of fun. Frost, the creator of a million snowflakes, each one of them unique. Frost, who would soon be one of thousands of nightmares. His chuckle became an all-out deep laugh.

_Let the real fun begin!_

XXX

North silently crept around to one side of the hole. Well, at least he tried to be silent. CRACK! Jack and the others spun wildly around, wide eyed. Seeing the broken stick, they all relaxed slightly.

"North! Watch where you step!" Bunny yell-whispered. North just rolled his eyes.

Jack slipped silently down the hole, followed by Bunny, then Tooth, then North, then finally Sandy after several silent minutes had passed.

The inside of Pitch's hideout was eerily silent, and Jack crept down the halls on tiptoes. Where the first two halls split, he gestured at Bunny to go one way, North to go another, and Tooth to go yet another. Sandy would be sneaking in a few minutes later. Jack stole down the hall into Pitch's… Is office the right word for a mastermind's lair where he stores his paperwork?

Before joining the real fight, Jack was going to try to find any paperwork showing Pitch's plans. They knew that Pitch was in contact with several of the enemy conspirators, but they needed concrete details. So Jack sifted through the mountains of paperwork, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.

_The opposition is planning an attack on the 19th… _Of nearly 50 years ago. Not useful.

_We have succeeded in modifying your sand to your specifications… _Jack stiffened at this one. This sand indirectly caused the destruction of his home. He tossed it aside franticly. He was running out of time. He needed to find something soon.

XXX

Meanwhile, Tooth was stalking silently down the halls, ready to start the battle as soon as she reached her destination.

CRASH! BANG! KABOOM! Tooth jumped up and twirled around. Her wings were ready to slice through nightmares and take down Pitch. There was just one small problem.

The end of the hallway she was in had been sealed off. She turned; ready to flee the other way. No luck. It was sealed off. She beat at the swirling black wall of sand, but only ended up coughing it in. She started feeling dizzy, and a few minutes later she fell unconscious.

XXX

Something very similar had just happened to Bunny. Like Tooth, he had been walking along when both ends of the corridor were sealed in with Pitch`s nightmare sand.

"Man in Moon, get me out of here!" He yelled. He carefully worked his way towards the wall of black sand, and tested it with his long foot. He pulled it out quickly, yelling. _That hurts! Ok, I won't be trying that again._

"Ok, calm down. You can get out of this." Bunny didn't normally talk to himself, but he was kind of stressed out.

XXX

The same thing was happening to North, but he was the lucky one. He recognized the sand for what it was, and started slashing at it with his swords. Unfortunately, the swirling mass of sand was much harder to kill than the physical beings. But instead of slumping down, he just stood higher. _I can get out of this. I just need to figure out how._

XXX

Sandy had joined Jack. He was making frantic signs above his head; North, Tooth, and Bunny surrounded by question marks.

"Where are they?" Jack said questioningly. Sandy nodded. "I don't know. They were supposed to have given the signal a few minutes ago. Maybe they got held up?"

Sandy shrugged. _Something still feels wrong._

XXX

_My spies tell me that the guardians are planning to use your classic military tactics against me._

_Jack has fallen for everything. He still doesn't know the whole story._

_Prepare the bait._

_-Your Master._

Jack stared at the crumpled piece of paper for a moment. _Bait? The whole story? And a spy who knows the guardians plans? This is bad. This is so, so bad._

** And on that cheerful note, we end this chapter. I apologize for how long it took to get this up, but hopefully I'll be back to posting every other day now.**


	8. Red

**Previously... The guardians stormed Pitch's lair, but the guardians got separated. Jack found some mysterious correspondence.**

"Jack Frost." Pitch's voice echoed throughout the lair. Jack and Sandy simultaneously whirled around, clutching at his staff. "You really are a fool. I never thought you and the guardians would be so easy to defeat." Three nightmares flooded the room, but they didn't attack. Disconcertingly, they were each carrying a small screen.

The tallest nightmares screen blinked to life. It showed North beating against a wall of nightmares. The next two screens showed Tooth and Bunny, in consecutive order.

"No…" Jack whispered. They had planned so carefully… How could everything of went so wrong?

"Yes. Face it, Jack. You're living your own worst nightmare. You're failing the guardians." Sandy grabbed Jack's arm and nodded no. While that reunion was going on, the others were busy fighting for their lives. Jack ground his teeth together.

"Don't you see, Pitch? There are no guardians or non-guardians anymore! Anyone can have believers! Anyone can do good, you don't even need to be a spirit! None of it matters! Think of how many people Jamie saved, and he isn't a guardian or a spirit. It's not too late to change. It's never too late to change." Pitch was silent for a moment following Jack's pretty speech.

"You're wrong. I've killed far too many people to ever go back." Pitch said, but quietly. _Is he acting?_

XXX

Pitch's pen scratched across the paper, adding a new entry.

_Jamie Bennet_

That paper was titled _Targets._

XXX

For a few more minutes, the nightmares had battered Jack and Sandy, and although they didn't realize it, the other guardians. Then, Pitch's unctuous voice cut in again.

"I'm nothing if not generous, guardians. But be warned; every gift comes with a price." Then, the nightmares stopped. They simply floated away, leaving them all completely and utterly alone. Sandy and Jack exchanged glances, and rushed towards the door.

They found North looking like his arm would fall off. He had sank gratefully to the floor when the nightmares had disappeared.

Tooth was still unconscious.

Aster… well, Aster was mad. He wanted to go and rip Pitch from limb to limb, but North gave him one of his best mom looks, and he came. Eventually they all found their way out of Pitch's lair. None of them spoke until they reached the pole. Tooth, who had woken up a few minutes before, opened her mouth to speak.

"Come quick!" A little Sophie look alike said, before Tooth could utter a syllable.

"What is it?" Jack asked, immediately worried. The little girl nodded, tears welling in her eyes. They rounded a corner, and Jack stopped dead in his tracks.

"Jamie!" He raced over to his old friend. Jamie was lying there, in a pool of his own blood. A shard of ice was wedged firmly in his heart.

"Check his pulse!" Jack leaned over. There it was. Weak, but there nonetheless.

"He's good." Everyone in the room breathed out.

** And…**** No need to worry. I will not kill of Jamie. Sorry that this update is so late, but I have a good feeling about my French test and history project and speech and health project and… Need I go on? Anyway, the busy part of the week is over, so I'll maybe post on… Friday?**


	9. Like Tetonic Plates

**Previously... Jamie is dying, but he is still breathing. The guardians got out of Pitch's grasp again.**

"He's steady." North said. He had just finished bandaging up Jamie. He would be OK. " But there is a complication." He continued.

"What is it?" Rosie asked, holding her husbands hand in a death grip.

"There is a possibility that he'll fall into a coma." It felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out. _A coma? _"If he does fall into a coma, it is unlikely he'll ever wake up."

Jack took the news surprisingly well. He paced around the room several times, then came to an abrupt halt facing the wall. He spun around, facing the others.

"We can't let that happen."

"Someones stating the obvious." Bunny's voice sounded from beside Jamie. He was sitting beside him in a grouchy, tired heap.

"Shut up, kangaroo." Jack muttered, more to himself than to Bunny. _It's almost like Pitch didn't mean to actually kill us, he just wanted us weakened and distracted._

"Well, it is time for us to be doing our jobs." North said, clapping his hands.

"I'm just gonna wait here for a bit." Jack said.

XXX

Tooth and Jack were watching Jamie. Jack hadn't left his side since they found him.

"Tooth?" Jack asked.

"Yeah?"

"D'you think he's going to make it?"

"Of course!" Tooth gasped. There was no doubt in her mind. Jamie was strong. He would be OK.

"Lets say he does go into a coma... What then? It sounds cold... But he is old. Do we let him slip away, or do we do everything we can to keep him alive?"

"We try to keep him alive, for Rosie. Without hope, she can't help anyone. If he wants to slip away after, we let him. If he can heal, then that's even better." Tooth's words were cool like steel, but Jack saw the logic behind them.

"I just don't want him to suffer. It's just, if there is any alternative..." Neither of them noticed Rosie who had appeared silently in the doorway.

"I don't want false hope." She said. Jack and Tooth both started, turning around like children caught with their hand in the cookie tin. "I don't let my emotions get in the way of my work. If all your worried about is me being able to help, then you don't need to worry. On the other hand, I can't believe how cold you've gotten. The old Jack, the old Tooth, they never would of suggested keeping someone alive just so they're job could be a little bit easier." They stared at Rosie.

"Rosie, that's no-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses! I used to think that you were so great, Frost, saving your sister, but now I see you for who you really are. The only reason you saved her was because you didn't want to have to look your parents and neighbours in the eye and say you watched her drown. The man in moon mistook your cowardice for courage, and now, now I hope everyone see's just how weak you really are. You only help people when you have something to gain from it!"

"Rosie, stop!" Tooth implored.

"And you, Tooth. All that nonsense about helping kids, and preserving their best memory's, for all that, when I needed you the most, where were you? To busy to notice one scared little girl. You're no better than him."

"Rosie, we don't want Jamie to die!"

"Yes you do! It's what you always wanted, you were jealous of everything that he had that you didn't. You said it yourself, Frost. In your sleep, when you were supposed to be protecting me, you said 'I'm lonely.' You were obviously jealous that Jamie had a family and you don't!"

"Didn't... I was thinking about before."

"Oh, that's right. Mr. I'm so lonely FROST, who gets to mess up just because he was lonely. Well guess what? So was I, and if I messed up during the war, people would die!" Her voice dropped down to a deadly whisper. "I'm not going to mess up this time. Jamie's not gonna die." A look of horror slowly came over her face. "What did I just say? I'm so sorry, Jack! I didn't mean any of it! I don't know what came over me..." She called after Jack, but he had been steadily backing away for her entire rant, then he had taken off down the hall.

XXX

_Is that how she see's me? Is that who I am? Am I a coward? But I want Jamie to stay alive! What set that off?_

"What did I just say? I'm so sorry, Jack! I didn't mean any of it!" Rosie called after him.

_Ya right._

XXX

"I am worried about Rosie. She is not mentally stable. Worry over Jamie is getting to her, I think." North was saying at the same time as Rosie was ranting to Jack.

"She'll be fine, I think, as soon as she accepts everything." Bunny said.

"Nevertheless, I worry. She has changed, and Jamie has changed even more. But Jamie... He always seemed to accept the inevitable, while Rosie just keeps fighting."

None of them had seen Sandy slip out of the room on silent feet.

**OK, well that started as a filler chapter while I figure out whats going on... Then it turned into that? (Throws hands up in air.) And if it makes you feel any better about how long it's been taking me to post, I got a 96% on my french test! So, I'm getting a bit tired of Rosie and am thinking of getting rid of her... OK, brain-dump over!**


	10. The Spy

**Previously... Rosie got mad, and Jamie is OK ish.**

Jack was walking down the halls, his emotions whirling. He didn't notice Sandy walking beside him, until Sandy started tugging at the edge of his sweatshirt.

He showed Rosie, followed by an X.

"Rosie is dead?" Jack asked alarmed. Sandy nodded no vigorously. He showed Rosie's mouth, moving, followed by and X through it.

"She can't speak?" Sandy nodded no again, frustrated. At last, he decided to spell the letters out above his head.

_She didn't mean what she said._

"I think she did. But really, it doesn't matter."

_If you're sure._

"Ya. Thanks Sandy." They walked to the end of the hall before parting ways.

XXX

"YAH! ATTTAAAAAACCKKK!" Jack's voice reverberated throughout the workshop. Bunny's ears perked up and he and North rushed to his aid.

The entire room was chock full of nighmares. Nightmares on the floor. Nightmares floating halfway up the walls. Nightmares. Nightmares. Nightmares.

"BLLLLAAHHH!" North yelled. Bunny joined in. Jack did a half crazy, half ecstatic laugh. This felt _good. _Fighting with everything he had, just him and his ice and the enemies everywhere. He swiped left and right with his staff, skating around the room, riding the air. He jabbed his staff to the center, knocking over a small stack of red painted trains but missing the nightmare. He twirled and struck and somersaulted over a dollhouse to avoid a blow. He sidestepped another nightmare and knocked both of the nightmares heads together with a smart tap, effectively stunning them before he froze them. He laughed again, turning to face the rest of the room.

His mouth fell open. North was struggling under a pile of nightmares, and Bunny was fighting his way across the room to help his friend. Jack felt his mind start to panic. There was so many, how could they win?

_I'll do what I always do, and pretend it's all a game. Like one of those videogames Jamie told me about, the more nightmares I take out, the closer I get to leveling up! _So Jack twirled his staff and froze one, two, three nightmares, jumped nimbly off to the side, and froze some more, four, five, six seven nightmares down just like that.

_Level up!_

He worked his way closer to North, where the nightmares were thickest. He became a whirling, freezing fiend, taking out enemy after enemy until-

"Jack! That was incredible!" North embraced him. Jack looked around, really taking in his surroundings for the first time.

The room was littered with broken toys, splattered paint, and bits of black sand that were just evaporating. But no nightmares.

_Jack Frost wins round one!_

XXX

"And Jack was just like BAM BAM BAM! And then he saved North from Pitch's evil nightmares that were attacking him!" A virtual clone of Jamie at age 5 enthusiastically told the story of Jack's victory.

"It was incredible! I never knew you could fight like that, Frostbite." Bunny chuckled. Jack was uncomfortable with all that gratitude. He turned red like North's hat. Bunny stopped complimenting him, but North didn't pick up on the hint.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" North boomed.

"Man in Moon might of taught me a few new tricks while I was away, I guess. I haven't really tested my powers since I got back, but it looks like I'm stronger now." Jack muttered. The others considered this for a second.

"I buy that." Tooth said.

XXX

While the others had been battling nightmares, Sandy had snuck out of Jamie's room towards the globe room.

_Man in Moon… I need to talk to you._

_ I am here. What do you need?_

_ Why did it take you so long to send Jack back?_

_ First of all, you have to understand that it was necessary._

_ Go on._

_ The attack happening right now, in this very workshop, it seems like a big attack, but really Pitch is just testing his powers._

_ What does that have to do with Jack's long absence?_

_ I foresaw that someone would need to become more than they were before to defeat Pitch this time around. I gave Jack extra powers while he was away._

_ Like what?_

_ His control and power over ice is much stronger now. I basically poured my magic into him. It will be interesting to see if any new powers pop up._

_ I have another question. In Pitch's study, we saw letters back and forth between Pitch and someone else. They were plotting out the war._

_ Yes. If I am correct, I believe that correspondence is between a former war leader, Derek Lucifer and Pitch._

_ It also looks like Pitch has a spy. Someone close to us, who is in the workshop and knows our plans._

_ I'm sorry, I can't help you with that._

_ Thank you anyway._

_ You to. Be safe._

Sandy sat there for a moment, considering everything he had learned in that brief conversation. He was about to turn and leave when a small flash of red light caught his eye. He stood still, trying to figure out where it came from.

Another flash. _Could it just be another new toy North was working on?_

Flash-flash-flash!

Sandy whirled around coming face to face with the source of the light- A small metallic device. After a moment of contemplating it, he smiled.

The 'spy' was really just a recording device.

**And this seems like a good place to end this chapter. I'm gonna give it one or two more chapters, and maybe an epilogue, and then this story will be all wrapped up.**


	11. Advance

**Previously... We discover that Jack has extra powers.**

They picked the battleground very carefully.

It was a flat, plain wasteland. It was sunny out, with some light clouds partially obscuring the sun. It was just cold enough to be uncomfortable for Bunny, but so that Jack could make his snow easily.

In other words, it was perfect conditions for the guardians. Not so much for Pitch. But, this was war. Meanwhile, they were waiting for Pitch to turn up. He would turn up. North felt it in his belly.

But for now, mind dulling boredom.

The sun was high overhead when the line of black appeared. It was quite a scene. Thousands of nightmares and Pitch on one side, and the five guardians on the other. Pitch strode to the front line and made a mocking bow.

"Guardians. I am delighted to see you."

"I'm afraid we can't say the same. Why are you doing this?" Bunny asked.

Pitch took on a dramatic thinking pose for a moment. "I wonder... Just the usual. I've had a very good hundred years. I intend to keep enjoying it. Unfortunately, you all insist on getting in the way."

"We won't just give way, ever. Unlike you, we have something to fight for."

"You're wrong. But that is irrelevant. You will give way, and I do have something to fight for. Front row, advance!" The first row of nightmares started towards the guardians.

Slash-kick-uppercut-blow-slash again-turn-fight.

"Second row! Advance!"

North had barely finished getting rid of one nightmare when he saw a new wave coming. His twin swords flashed under the sun and he finished off a few nightmares, bam-bam-bam!

"Third row! Advance!"

Time was ticking along twice as slowly as usual. Jack was battling a particularly powerful nightmare. It was a black knight on horseback, and Jack parried his blows using his staff. Every movement was carefully calculated.

First, he swung his staff upwards, catching the edge of the nightmares sword. It squealed along the edge, setting his teeth on edge. The nightmare hit back, and Jack let his staff drop, letting it swing easily downwards. He flicked it back up, keeping it going in its careless arc. The nightmare slashed down with colossal power, and Jack's staff went with it, swinging downward again. He stepped backwards and jabbed the nightmare in the stomach. It dissolved.

A few minutes passed and Jack had managed to single handily take out most of Pitch's first three rows of Pitch's force.

"Fourth, fifth, sixth row! Advance!"

Jack sighed, and kept fighting. He glanced at the other guardians, and seeing that they were OK, he kept fighting.

_This will take a while._

**So, I'm gonna wrap this up soon. I'll give it one more chapter. Sorry this is so late, though.**


End file.
